Concrete mixer



S. H. WIGHT'MAN CONCRETE MIXER Filed July 14 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Flu-3.1..

W/T/VESSES nswroe,

Ma '22, 19223. I 1,455,898

S. WIGHTMAN coucnmn MIXER Filed July 14 1920 4 Sheets- Sheet 5,

Fll3..

\ WITNESSES //VVE/V 7'0? s. H. WIGHTMAN May 22 CONCRETE MIXER Filed July 14. 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I WIT/E3556 a. wa -9 W.

Patentedilliiy '22,

, I li'ssienns'ivr's; To rurnnnn rronhij"concanrn coaronnrron; dF"WILM I 1\TGTON,

'DEVLAWABE,,VA c'onroRA'uoN or "DELAWARE.

concanrn mrxnef 7 w i Ap lication mediall 1a, 1920. :Serial no; 396,104} a v. r e

To ra lllwhom i tmay canoe mu t Beit known-that 1;, SHERBURNE AN,-jfresidin-g at Birmingham, in-thecounty of Oakland and: State of ,Michigan, a citizen whereby the materials are dischargeddnto two adjacent troughs in the, desiredpro'portionsfand the -materials;thoroughly mixednot only in':each trough but the materials are also'th-rownback' and fortln'from one trough tojthe other in such mannerthatthe materialswillbe caused tomix: and inter mingle, in their .a passage from one "trough .to f

t the other, e The means employedfor throwin-gthe mate-rialsback and forth are so cone structed and operated,that-thepaths of movement ofthe materials fromthe troughs.

are notparallel' but at an acute angleio the aies of the troughsygso .that wthe :paths of movement of the :materials'from' thetWo troughs '-Will int'ersect and the particlesof materials will strike one" against the; other,

causing" deflections froml theiroriginal di;

troughs but valso'xvhilevbeing thrown from one troughv toy-the other .and finally forced in continuous streams from the troughs.

" The initial mixing is effected While thematerials, are dry, but water. is supplied; in suitable quantities, during the mixing sov that 'the-material is, discharge'dvvith the requisite Water content, ready for; use; :fFhe; inven tionishereinafter more fullyl'describediand claim'edn f1 1' i In the accompanying drjawingsyforming a part of this specification; Figgfl 1s agside elevationioftheimproved mixer; Fig.2 is

a front' end elevation of the" same;-F:ig.3 is 1 a! transverse sectionon a plane indicated by the. line HIE-HI; Fig.;,1;.;Fig: is'a-l'ohgitlldinalsection ion a plane indicated bythe end elevation.

of the United States, have invented orJdis-j covered certain nejwu and usefull mprove-c v n1ents,.-infConcrete ltilixers, of hich qim- 'provemen'ts the ;following is'specification.

[The invention described herein relatestocertaindmproveme'nts for mixinggmaterialsemployed in the formation of concrete, veto, and; has for itsflobjectthe provision of means entire length of the chamber.

ing chamber which has: its "front portion covered by the feed hopper as-hereinafter f des'cribec'l, hile its'rear portionmay' have itsfupper side open, has its bottom or floor" so jshaped l'as to form two closely adjacent troughsl and 2 extending by-preferenc'efthe The troughs 1 are preferably comparatively "shallovv. so as U to facilitate. the movements of material from one' -troughto another. These-troughs are formed on arcs .of'circles having theirce-n ters coincident with the'aXes of shafts and 4 NVlliCll are mounted in bearings 5 andflfi'" formed respectively 'innthe Wall al-closing" the front end: ofthe mixing vchaml'aer and theyoke 8 extendingacrossltherear endof 1 the "chamber and secured tdth'e end frame a pluralityof stirring paddles 9-,?the paddles of the'chamber. on these shaftsare-secu'red one shaftrwillpass between-adjacentipaddles onrithe other shaft. These 'pad'dIe's aIe so constructed and; arranged on their shafts that their operative" face'swvill be--: con1para*- ti'vely; broad eso th'at when moving trans? versely of the; troughsthey' will displace and: 'c'arr'y up "and over substantial quanti ties of thdm'ateria'h'and will also fop rate tov move the material longitudinallyofthe troughs-and out through the open: rear ends offlthe -troughs; The shafts: are rotated in;

opposite 'sdircctions and the direction of;=ro'. tation is; preferablyfsuchthat thei paddles:

'ivillyenterthe troughs at pointsialong the inner andfadja'cent sides of a the troughs, mover outwardly across thetroughs forcing portions ofthematerial to the outersides. of

the troughs. I This movement-ofthe mate,- rials across the troughs Will cause albanking upof the same, along'the outer sides-01f the troughs so that when 1 the paddles m ve up throughthe banked masgithey WIllhCEIII'y v substantial quantities on their upper surf faces. The shaftsare lj'otated' atsuch' speeds that; the combined; action, of gravity and centrifugal force I-Will hold Z the greater-"p art th t material carried from one itroug w of the :materialon the. paddles until the p a H paddle'spass beyond ,vertica1;,p1-anes passing .the,,%aiXes of, the shafts, whenythe material will leave, the paddles with such momentum drop into-the other'i trough and. fvicefversa.

It will be observed that by reason of the inclination and curvature of the sides of the ridge intermediate the troughs, the materials will slide down towards the bottoms of the troughs into the paths of move ment of the paddles, and none of the materials can lodge outside of the field of action of the paddles.

It is characteristic of this method that there will be small masses of material lifted from each trough and thrown into the other trough, and in this movement passing through masses from the other trough. This operation ensures a thorough intermingling and mixture of the raw materials, bringing the cement into intimate contact with the said aggregate.

The paddles are formed of suitable ma terial and are secured in pairs on the shafts, the members of each pair projecting in opposite directions. While the paddles may be Secured to the shafts in any suitable manner, it is preferred that they should have theirinner ends secured in sockets 10 formed on sleeves 11 removably secured on the shafts.

The materials are fed into the troughs preferably from a hopper 12 arranged above the front portion of the mixing chamber. This hopper is divided by a plurality of partitions 13 into compartments for the reception of the several materials to be mixed, and the hopper is provided with suitable means whereby the materials may be discharged from the respective compartments in the proportions desired in the finished mixture. A convenient construction for that purpose consists in supporting the materials in the compartments on a plate l l movable transversely of the troughs in the mixing chamber. This plate is made of such a length that it can be so reciprocated back and forth that the end portion will extend alternately beyond the sides of the hopper distances proportional to the quantities of material to be fed into the troughs. This plate, while it may be supported in any suitable manner is preferably provided along its sides with ribs 15 which may be grooved as at 16 and bear upon the balls 17 arranged in a-raceway. In order to reciprocate this plate, arms 18 are secured on a shaft 19, the outer ends of the arms being connected to the underside of the plate, as clearly shownin Figs. 3 and 4:, and on the outer end of this shaft is a sleeve 19 loosely mounted on the shaft and adapted to be connected thereto by a clutch 20. This sleeve is provided with an arm 21, slotted adjacent to its outer end and adapted to be connected to an arm 22 on the strap 23 of the eccentric 24. This eccentric is secured on a countershaft 25011 which is loosely mounted a pinion 26 intermeshing with a pinion on one of the shafts carrying the paddles. By the rotation of this countershatlt, the shaft 19 will be oscillated back and forth imparting a reciprocatory movement to the plate 13, the amount of reciprocation being variable by the adjustment of the connection between the arm on the ec-' centric strap and the arm on the sleeve 20. This construction permits of the adjustment of the rate of feed of materials relative to the rate of rotation of the mixing shafts and arms. As the plate is moved in the direction of the arrow at the material resting thereon will be carried outside of the hopper, the sides of which stop short of the plate and the thickness of the material will depend upon the distance between the lower edge of the side of the hopper from the surface of the plate. In order to regulate the amount of material thus carried from the hopper by the plate, the distance between the side of the hopper and the plate is made greater than would permit an amount ordinarily used to be mixed, and the gap thus made can be varied by means of sliding doors 27 mounted in guides on the sides of the hopper. The quantity of material fed to the troughs is also regulable by changing the range of movement of the plate 13. After the plate carrying the material has reached the limit of its outward movement in one direction, it is shifted back in the reverse direction, but by reason of the mass of material in the hopper resting on the plate, that which has been carried out cannot be moved back into the hopper, but will drop into the trough as the plate is withdrawn. In other words, the material within the hopper serves as an abutment or stop to prevent the carrying back of any material by the movement of the plate. If desired, a plate or abutment 27 may be arranged in the hopper to prevent material moving back into the latter with the feed plate. The feed construction above described provides for the feed of material into both troughs. It has been hereinbefore stated that the arms on the shafts move outwardly across the troughs and that by the action of the paddles or arms the materials are thrown from points adjacent to the outer walls of one trough into the opposite trough to insure a thorough mixing. Mixing is further insured by so feeding materials into the troughs, i. e., adjacent to the side walls of the respective troughs, that the materials will encounter the arms as they move upward carrying portions of material previously fed which together with the materials just dropping from the hopper, will be thrown from one trough to the other. This operation is clearly shown in Fig. 3.

As hereinbefore stated, the paddles serve to move the material along the hopper, and at a suitable point in the traverse of this material towards the discharge ends of'the troughs suitable -Il'le2 tI l'S" Za re employed for sprinkling Water onto the 1 mixedlm'etefials.

- In the cqnstruetion shewn this means eon-- sists of a pipe 28 provided With a suitable regulating .valve {and having l ateijelly-eextending branches 29 perforated fen the es:

ca e1omtrlnt5 the' niatel ials, n

" While net neces ary, it is, pref erred1that by referencete Fig; 3 these cleois' are "hinged It'is characteristic of heimprove mixer that; the m ateriztls ere discharged into "two r h j O e e d -ih h 'w h' theife-Willibe continuousanovenients ,elfthe 'ensnrin that "both streams uniform as to mlxtul e, 1;

materials thi oughlymi'xed-by the action of the paddles Whlh also operate to stif ,the'

rnateninlsgbnt elso td thnew tl'ielnbac k and.

forth from] ene tfough to the Othen jthus 7 1t "willbe obsem ecl, thatgthere is i411 ins: Val between "the discharge of materials 1nt0 the titeughg. but the' n ateria-lsin the't feu'ghs we moved cent/ 111'non'sly};so ,t-lia t subsequent he fwi lnot 1 10 charged quantities 'rangecl nbeve snide tronghs n ngl preyidecl" with a'rnis adapted on "the rotation; get i the shafts to :pass transversely" .ecrossf-the, l troughs "in.sn'eh' clirectjon thetimaterlels ere .mo vecl outwanclly across the; tneughsjantl over the shafts froi'n tine treugli, to {thefiothe'r and arfzu lgecl td reflect mgvement of'img; 'terialsnlong the troughs zintl"eut 't hrough the Openings in the end o f'th'e' mixing chain slte clirections-anch r'egulable' means for material to the "respective;

- i3 beingmixed "by the epe'mtiono'fthe arm's. .6. A mixing apparatus haVinQinc-ombb' invention} l la m e ein e zmv 1. :A mixing eppntatusfhm ing 1n combi-n natien ,a mixing ,chamberx having itsb0t-- tom formed by; tr01 1ghs.extencling1slcle by? 'side,jthej end waltof I the/[chamber having Openings in line-With thetl'enghs for the;

tlischargei of m'atei'ials, rotatable an beI-,'menns for retatin gthe,shafts in opp! feedin the troughs, v 2. A nnxlngnppamtus havlngln veornlo nation a mixing bhamber hzwing its bot tom formed of treng'hs' 'e xtenclingiside loyv side," the end Wall et the chamber. "having openings in 5 line With the tt'onghs for. the clisch'srge 0f material, rotatable shafts arranged above said troughs 'anclfprovi'clecl with arms adapted, (m -the frotationmef the shafts; t0 passitra nsversely across'the tronghsn'ncl armnged teieffecta moyement v tune ractic lly onto; previously of. the j materials ale'ng and :outT-threugh" the I openings in the enclfqf the mixin hang bet, means for retz tting the shafts in oppoa site directions, andgneans F-for feecling 1112-. terial t6 1 the Vttrenghs intermittently ancl jel- 3.5 mixing appe ratlus having in combination e rnixingiehemberj hayingits-bettem formed'ofg troughsfextencling*sideby side,

said,- 'ehambelf, having" Openings in its end 4, J Wall l ll 1 f IilIG SVllZhEthG':tIfQLlghS fen th'e icli s- I phnrge 'opf rnieteriel rotatable shnfts Janr nged aboye js ai'd troughs and] previdecli, "withfgarms adapted on the i rotetion' of the shafts to pass trzi nsversely' aeross; the

troughs and errangeglto jefie'cte': mbfi'rer'nentg of the me e el alon h bvgh' endi 'tl threngh the end. of the cl1a-1nlee1',. nneansife ,i tating l'the (shafts l inn 'o ppo site cl i 1eeti0,1 1s zinclrne'ans Liter fe cl i n"g""'f materielsx to; be mixed into said troughs, alternately] 4;; Amixing.apparatus having-ing'combln etion'n mixing chamber'fha'ving itszlbottom pforinecl troughs; extendingalon g side-by'rsicle sni'cl chem-her halving openings in its .endf W nllfin lin'e fwith the troughs fer the clisehar ge of Lmeteriels rotatable f1; l

shafts-arranged"ahovefjsaid,treughs and p rov -i cled wifihfalfinssclaptetl on the rotation ofthe'fsha'ftste pa ss transverselyecgessjthe troughs andarranged tofl effeet mo en ent of" the:ine'terialsalongftheltroughs and. out

through] the openings U in .the encl Of "the w,

vehnmber, means for soigotetin'g the shafts",

that the portions 0f they-arms passing through jthe rnater'inl will move entwarcllyyw and means-fer feecling 1matel ial alternately" 1 into" the respectiv prgmghs;

' a;,mixing chemberl havingf its b'otf nipperatns -havingin eombi f" lus tern ff o'rmeclj by troughs"extending,- side by" j I side beyond the encllgf the chamber,"said- 3 'cha'rnbet ghzwing openings ingits end "wall Lin line with lthe treughsfor,the-discharge I [of material, retetabl'eshafts a ir'zlngeclfabove said. tr ugh-s jandvprevidecl with arms adept;

ed; to on the-rotationo'f th'e .shefts, pass transversely across the troughs; means fer so retating the "shefts'gthat peeve Y outwardly. when ,passlng; lecres's the tronghsfimeens fol'yfecl ng meterlel lnten mittently into-thegportion of said troughs withinthe' chamber enclf means fer feed ing. v Water to the materials subsequent to their if 120 nation] eimixing chamber "having its, bottom,

idecl with radiall arranged g adapt 130.

ed on the rotation of the shafts to move across the troughs and cause the material to move along the troughs and out through the openings in the chamber, means for roeating the shafts and means for the independent feeding of materials to each of the troughs,

7. A mixing apparatus having in combination a mixing chamber having its bottom formed by troughs extendin side by side beyond the end of the chamber, said chamber having openings in its end in line with the troughs for the discharge of ma? terials, shafts provided with arms adapted to move transversely across the troughs on the rotation of the sha and etlect move ment of the materials along the troughs and out through the openings in the chainber, means for oonstan ly rotating said shafts, means operative by the shafts for feeding materials intermittently into the res troughs and means for supplying water to the materials after passing from the chamber.

8. A mixing apparatus having in combination mixing; chamber h. no; its bottom formed or troughs extending side by side, said chantiber having openings in its end w: ll in line with said troughs for the dis charge of material, shafts provided with arms adapted to move transversely an'oss the troughs on the rotation of the shafts to etl ect a movement oi? the materials along the troughs and out through the openings from the chambenineans for rotating said shafts, a hopper provided with dischar e openings one above each of said troughs in its side walls. a feed plate forming the bottom of the hopper and adapted to be reciprocated to carry material out through the d1 scharge openings and into said troughs alternately and means operative by said shalts for reciprocating the feed plate.

9. A. mixing apparatus having in combinati a a mixing); chamber having its bottom tori'ned or troughs extending side by side, said chamber having openings in its ends wall in line with the troughs for the discharge of materials, shafts provided with arms adapted to move transverselyacross the troughs on the rotation of the-shafts and effect a movement of the materials side, said chamber having openings in its end wall in line with the troughs for the discharge of material, rotatable shafts arranged above said troughs and provided with arms adapted on the rotation of. the shait'ts to pass ttransversely across the troughs, means tor rotating the shafts, a hopper, means for feeding material from the hopper into the troughs, and adjustable connections from the feeding means to the shafts.

11. A. mixing appartus having in oombi= nation troughs extending side by side, rotatable shafts arranged above said troughs and provided with arms adapted on the rotation of the shafts to pass transversely across the troughs, means for so rotating the shafts that the arms will move outwardly when passing across the troughs and means "for feeding materials to the troughs intermediate the shafts and the outer walls of the respective troughs. V

12. A mixing apparatus having in combination troughs extending side by side. rotatable shatts arranged'above said troughs, and provided with arms adapted on the rotation of the shafts to pass transversely across the troughs, means for so rotating the shafts that the arms will move outwardly when passing across the roughs and means for alternately feeding materials into the troughs in such manner that the materials will encounter the arms during their upward movements.

In testimony whereof, I my hand.

SHERBURNE H. l JIGHTMi-XN.

have hereunto set 

